Pill dispensing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An automated pill dispenser includes a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a hub. The hub includes a rotatable plate capable of rotating to a selected pill chamber and removing a pill therefrom. A vacuum tip including a bellows extends through an access opening formed within the rotatable plate to withdraw a pill from a bottom portion of the selected pill chamber by grasping the pill from above. A reflective bar code is disposed beneath the rotatable plate and detectable through an opening through the plate to indicate plate position relative to the pill chambers. A computer enables a user to programmably operable the pill dispenser and select the pill chamber, dosage amount and time.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 10/438,452filed May 14, 2003, the contents of which are hereby incorporated intothis application by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to medication dispensers, and moreparticularly, to dispensers having the ability to dispense solid pillmedications on a user programmed schedule.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pill dispensing systems that dispense pills according to apre-programmed schedule are widely used and very valuable in today'ssociety. It is advantageous for such pill dispensers to dispensedifferent dosages of different pills at different frequencies andtherefore at different times. Various pill dispensers are currentlycommercially available having multiple pill chambers and a means fordispensing pills contained within the chambers. However, each of thesechambers contains only a single medication dose for a particular time. Asingle medication dose may include two, three or more different kinds ofpill medication to be given at a particular time. Each pill chamber mustthen be individually filled with these different pill medications for agiven particular time. For example, pill chamber 1 may contain two heartpills, a single antibiotic tablet and two cholesterol lowering pills allof which are to be taken by the user at 8:00 a.m. This type of pilldispensing system requires the chamber to be correctly filled with thevarious types and number of pill medication to be dispensed at aparticular time. Thus if a user requires medication four times a day,twenty eight chambers must be individually filled by the user for oneweek's worth of medication. Additionally, the user is required tocorrectly count and place each pill medication into the correct pillchamber. This user intensive technique is prone to human error, makes itdifficult to maintain the correct dispensing schedule and dose, andfurther leads to increased health costs as the result of non-compliance.

As such, there is a need for an improved automatic pill dispenser thatwill reliably dispense the correct number of various pills atpredetermined programmed times, provides for an easy and efficient meansfor placing the desired medication into the dispenser, extends the needto replenish the pill medication contained within the pill chambers fromdays to months, is not prone to failure or malfunction, is easy tomanufacture and has a low manufacturing cost. The present invention isdirected to overcoming the shortcomings of conventional pill dispensersand providing such an improved pill dispenser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides an improved pill dispensing apparatus comprisinga cylindrically shaped base unit having one or more pill dispensingchambers radially aligned along the outer circumference of the base.Each pill-dispensing chamber may include a removable top which protectsthe pills from air borne contaminants. Each pill dispensing chamber isfurther composed of a vertically positioned pill storage chamber forstoring a large number of one particular pill type which thentransitions to a lower dispensing chamber. A portion of the lowerdispensing chamber partially protrudes towards the center of the base.The transition region between the pill storage and dispensing chambersis inwardly sloped to guide the pill medication towards the protrudingportion of the dispensing chamber. The top portion of the lowerdispensing chamber has a hole which allows internal access to the pillmedication. Thus the pill chambers are arranged around the circumferenceof the base providing internal access to each stored pill medication.Additionally, at least one vibrating motor may be mounted on the base togently vibrate the chambers and assist pill movement from the storagechamber to the dispensing chamber.

Axially mounted within the interior of the base is a disk shapedrotating platform which is powered by a set of gears and a first DCmotor. As the platform rotates, a partially pie shaped hole located onthe periphery of the platform allows access through each dispensingchamber hole to the respective pill medication.

Also affixed to the base unit may be a bar coded semi-reflective striphaving reflective and non-reflective stripes. The pattern of stripesforms a unique code for each pill dispensing chamber. Further attachedto the rotating platform may be an infra-red optical emitter anddetector pair which cooperatively communicate with the bar coded strip.As the platform rotates with respect to the base unit, the opticalemitter emits the infra-red emission from the transmitter which iseither reflected or absorbed by the strip. The reflection from the stripis received by the optical detector which then produces an electricalsignal corresponding to the bar code of each chamber. The electricalsignal represents the relative position of the platform with respect toeach pill dispensing chamber.

A DC powered suction pump having an inlet port in fluid communicationwith an outlet port may be further mounted on top of the rotatingplatform. When the vacuum pump is powered on, a vacuum is produced atthe inlet port. The inlet port then connects to a flexible conduit whichthen further connects to the inlet port of a solenoid operable fluidswitch. The outlet port of the fluid switch is in fluid communicationwith the atmosphere. Powering the solenoid establishes fluidcommunication between the atmosphere and the conduit which drasticallyreduces any vacuum present in the conduit. Further connected to theflexible conduit is the inlet port of a pressure transducer. Thepressure transducer produces an electrical signal indicating thepresence or absence of a vacuum in the flexible conduit. The flexibleconduit then attaches to the top of a pill dispensing assembly.

The dispensing assembly further comprises a vertically positioned rigidconduit in fluid communication with the aforementioned flexible conduitat the upper end and in fluid communication with an attached flexiblesilicon bellow at the lower end. A springably biased vertically moveablesheath is concentrically located about the rigid conduit having thebellow protrude through the lower portion of the rigid conduit. A limitswitch is positioned above the sheath and closes when the sheath reachesthe uppermost allowed vertical position.

The pill dispensing assembly may be affixed to a vertically moveablerack which further engages a pinion gear powered by a second DC motor.The pill dispensing assembly is further located over the access hole ofthe rotating platform. Thus the dispensing assembly can move in eitheran upward or downward direction through the platform access hole whichhas a position determined by direction of rotation of the second DCmotor. Two additional limit switches are further placed at thefurthermost allowable vertical top and bottom dispensing assemblypositions and respectively close when the assembly reaches thesepositions.

A microcontroller is provided and interfaces to all three limitswitches, pressure transducer, vacuum motor, table rotation first DCmotor, vibration motors, dispensing second DC motor, opto emitter anddetector, and solenoid valve. The programmable controller communicateswith and controls the mechanical features of the pill dispenser. Themicrocontroller is further in electrical bidirectional communicationwith a single board computer having a touch screen liquid crystaldisplay. The computer is programmably responsive to user input andincludes a real time clock and associated memory.

It should be understood that the preceding mechanical description isexemplary only and that various suitable variations may be used.

In an exemplary embodiment, the user may enter a dispensing schedule byspecifying the pill chamber (i.e., pill medication type), quantity ofpills to be dispensed from the respective pill chamber and the time fordispensing the medication through an interactive dialog using the LCDtouch screen. The single board computer controls the user interfacethrough the interactive dialog and creates the dispensing schedule. Oncethe user has finished entering the dispensing schedule information, thecomputer then parses the dispensing schedule into a more basic scheduleindividually listing each time for dispensing an individual pill from arespective chamber. The single board computer is programmable and thetime and/or the number of pills to be dispensed from each of the pillchambers may be programmably preset. The single board computer isoperable to maintain a dispensing schedule of the pills from each of therespective pill chambers according to a predetermined dosage amount anda predetermined time. The dosage amount and time may include differentfrequencies and start times. When the time for dispensing the medicationoccurs, the computer sends the microcontroller a single pill dispensingcommand for dispensing only a single pill from a respective chamber. Ifmore than one pill from the same chamber is required, another singlepill dispensing command is repeated until the correct number of pillshave been dispensed from that pill chamber for that particular pilltype. This procedure is continued until all pills from their respectivechambers have been successfully dispensed.

The microcontroller is also programmable to operate the mechanism thatwithdraws the pills from the pill chambers. In response to a singledispensing command, the microcontroller places the dispensing assemblyin the uppermost position as indicated by the closing the uppermostlimit switch. The microcontroller then rotates the platform until theopto-circuitry indicates that the platform access hole is over thecorrect, selected pill chamber. The microcontroller then turns on thevacuum pump, vibrating motors and lowers the dispensing assembly throughthe platform access hole and into the pill chamber. If the flexiblebellow engages a pill, a vacuum will occur in the fluid circuit. Inresponse to the vacuum, the pressure transducer sends a signal to themicrocontroller indicating that a pill has been picked up by the bellow.The microcontroller then raises the dispensing assembly and moves theplatform over a release tray. The vacuum pump is then stopped and thesolenoid switch activated removing the vacuum from the fluid circuit andreleasing the pill. The pill subsequently falls under the force ofgravity into the release tray. If a pill is not picked up, either thesheath switch or the lowermost limit switch signals the microcontroller.In response to either the sheath or lower limit switch signal, themicrocontroller raises the dispensing assembly until the uppermost limitswitch signals the microcontroller. The microcontroller again repeatsthe dispensing procedure for a number of programmed attempts, afterwhich the microcontroller sends a “failure to pick up a pill” command tothe single board computer. The single board computer then notifies theuser audibly and/or visually using the LCD touch screen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

A full understanding of the invention can be gained from the followingdescription of the various embodiments when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a cutaway view of an exemplary embodiment of theinvention having a rack and pinion dispensing assembly;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of an exemplary pill dispenser;

FIG. 3 illustrates the dispensing platform;

FIG. 4 a illustrates a partially cutaway view of an exemplary vacuumdispensing system;

FIG. 5 illustrates an electrical block diagram of one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the parsing of the dispensing command from the singleboard computer to the microcontroller;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary control algorithm for dispensing asingle pill medication;

FIG. 8 illustrates a partially cutaway view of an exemplary vacuumdispensing system engaging a granular pill; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a radial dispensing assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, a cutaway internal view of the pill dispenser 1 isillustrated having a support hub 10. Support hub 10, alternativelyreferred to as a support base, may be cylindrical in shape and hasformed within top surface 11 mounting grooves 12 a, 12 b (not shown), 12c and 12 d-12 f (not shown) which slideably accept and hold respectivepill chambers 14 a-14 c and 14 d-14 f (not shown). Pill chambers 14 a-14f may be radially aligned along the circumference of hub 10 but otherconfigurations may alternatively be used. Each chamber is formed to haverespective vertically aligned pill storage chambers 22 and horizontallyaligned dispensing chambers 24 that are substantially orthogonal tovertically aligned pill storage chambers 22. Each dispensing chamber hasthe capacity to hold a large quantity of one particular pill type. Foran example, pill dispenser 1 as described herewith is composed of sixpill chambers 14 a-14 f and hence is capable of dispensing 6 differenttypes of pill medication. However, the number of chambers can beincreased by using a hub 10 with a larger circumference and/or radiallyaligning more dispensing chambers around the base or using chambers ofdifferent dimensions. The inclined transition region 26 between chambers22 and 24 of each dispensing chamber is formed to inclinably guide theflow of pills being pulled down chamber 22 by the force of gravity andinto chamber 24. Each dispensing chamber is further formed to beinterlocked with each other and mounted radially onto the outercircumference of hub 10 such that the entire dispenser 1 has acylindrically shaped outward appearance. To protect the pills from dustand other air borne contaminants, each dispensing chamber isadvantageously fitted with respective removable lids 16 a-16 c and 16d-16 f (not shown). Pills 30 are contained within the pill chambers 14a-14 f. Although illustrated as having a conventional pill shape, thepills may take on other shapes in other exemplary embodiments. In oneexemplary embodiment, the pills may be tablet-shaped or otherwiseoblong.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the top of each dispensing chamber 18 hasformed an access hole 20 (e.g. illustrated access hole 20 a) whichallows internal access to pills contained within chamber 24. Pillchambers 14 are preferably fixed to hub 10 and do not rotate. Not shownis release tray 15 and drawer 15 a which are more fully disclosed inFIG. 2.

Hub 10 has further formed a cylindrically shaped support 13 axiallyaligned with the circumference of hub 10. Support 13 extends past topsurface 18 of pill chamber 14. Affixed to support 13 is stationary spurgear 50. A semi-reflective strip 112 is circumferentially placed on thetop surface of gear 50.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an exemplary arrangement of pill dispenser 1that includes pill chambers 14 a-14 f circumferentially disposed aroundsupport hub 10. Further shown is pill chamber 14 c having respective lid16 c removed showing pills 30 stored within pill storage chamber 22 c.For clarity, platform 60 and associated parts are not shown. Furthershown are pill dispensing chambers 24 a-24 f filled with theirrespective pills of various shapes. A peripherally disposed and inclinedrelease tray 15 is positioned below pill chambers 14 a-14 f into whichpills are dispensed for the user to access by way of pull out drawer 15a. Pills withdrawn from chambers 24 a-24 f are positioned over and thenreleased into tray 15. The incline of tray 15 allows gravity to furtherurge the pills into drawer 15 a. Arrows 15 c note the typical dispensedpill path from tray 15 to drawer 15 a.

Referring additionally to FIG. 3, cylindrically shaped dispensingplatform 60 is rotatably attached to support 13 by pin 62. Platform 60has further formed a pie shaped dispensing hole 61 a, a square shapedoptical access hole 61 b and an axially positioned mounting hole 61 c.The shape and orientation of holes 61 a, 61 b and 61 c may vary in otherembodiments. Affixed to the top side of platform 60 is electric motor63. The shaft of motor 63 protrudes through platform 60 through hole 61d and is further attached to pinion gear 64 which is designed to meshwith gear 50. The diameter of pinion gear 64 is less than the diameterof gear 50 increasing the drive torque produced by motor 63 and alsorotating platform 60 at a rotational velocity less than the motor shaftrotational velocity. Motor 63 is further electrically connected toprinted circuit board 68 via wires 63 a and 63 b. Printed circuit board68 is mounted to platform 60 and rotates along with platform 60.Powering motor 63 rotates platform 60 and also board 68 so thatdispensing hole 61 a is aligned over the dispensing chamber 24 of theselected pill chamber.

Further attached to platform 60 is diaphragm suction pump 70 having aninlet port 72 and outlet port 74. Power for pump 70 is provided viamotor 71. Inlet port 72 is in fluid communication with tube 76. Attachedto tube 76 is solenoid valve 78 having an inlet port 79 a and an outletport 79 b. Inlet port 79 a is in fluid communication with tube 76. Thesolenoid connects to printed circuit board 68 via electrical wires 78 aand 78 b. The outlet port 79 b is in fluid communication with thesurrounding atmosphere. The other end of tube 76 connects to and is influid communication with pressure transducer 80. The other end ofpressure transducer 80 connects to and is in fluid communication withtube 82. The other end of tube 82 connects to and is in fluidcommunication with dispensing conduit 90. A flexible silicon bellow 92is disposed on the other end of conduit 90 but other types of bellowsmay be alternatively used. Connected to conduit 90 is suction cupassembly 91 more fully explained below. Bellow 92, conduit 90, tube 82,transducer 80, tube 76, solenoid valve 78, inlet port 72, outlet port 74and pump 70 form a fluid circuit and are in fluid communication witheach other.

Conduit 90 is further vertically supported by vertically moveable rack94. Rack 94 is positioned to engage a corresponding pinion gear 96.Pinion gear 96 is affixed to shaft 97 of DC motor 98. Motor 98 isattached to platform 60 via support 99. Motor wires 98 a and 98 bconnect to board 68.

Limit switches 100 and 102 are affixed to platform 60 by a bracket (notshown) or other means. These switches engage rack 94 at the end of thevertical travel of rack 94 having switch 100 engage at the uppermost endof travel and switch 102 engage at the lowermost end of travel. Switches100 and 102 are also electrically connected to board 68 with wires (notshown).

Mounted on the bottom of hub 10 are vibrating motors 105 and 107. Motor105 is electrically connected to board 68 via wires 105 a and 105 b.Motor 107 is electrically connected to board 68 via wires 107 a and 107b. Vibration motors 105 and 107 are sized and accordingly powered to becapable of vibrating hub 10 and all pill chambers 14. Vibration motors105 and 107 assist in altering the orientation of pills in dispensingchamber 24, making it easier for the pills to be grasped from above bythe vacuum tip of bellow 92 of assembly 91.

Infrared optical emitter and detector module 110 is further attached toplatform 60 and positioned over gear 50 so that module 110 is in opticalcommunication through hole 61 b with reflective strip 112. Module 110 isin electrical communication (not shown) with board 68.

Referring to FIG. 4, further detail of assembly 91 is depicted havingbellow 92 inserted into conduit 90. Bellow 92 has further an openconduit 106 extending from the bottom through to the top of bellow 92.Thus fluid communication is continuous from the bottom (vacuum) tip ofbellow 92 to port 74 of vacuum pump 70. Placed along the outside ofconduit 90 is moveable shealth 108. Formed on the side of shealth 108 isslot 109. A pin 113 is inserted into slot 109 and is attached to theside of conduit 90. Shealth 108 is free to vertically move a predefineddistance as shown by arrows 117. The extent of vertical movement isdefined by the top end 109 a and the bottom end 109 b of slot 109. Thebottom 114 of shealth 108 has further hole 115 which allows bellow 92 tofreely protrude through and past bottom 114.

Affixed to the outside wall of conduit 90 is a push button single polesingle throw sheath limit switch 120. Button 122 when depressed into thebody of switch 120 closes the switch which in turn connects switch leads124 a and 124 b. Leads 124 a and 124 b are further connected to board68.

The upper end of compression spring 126 is attached to conduit 90 havingthe lower end engage the upper edge 128 of sheath 108. Thus sheath 108is springably biased in the vertically extended position having pin 113engaging the top end 109 a of slot 109.

It is thus understood that assembly 91 moves in a vertical direction asdepicted by arrows 130 independently of both sheath 108 and bellow 92vertical displacements.

Referring additionally now to FIG. 5, an exemplary electrical blockdiagram of pill dispenser 1 is illustrated showing microcontroller 200in electrical, bidirectional communication with single board computer210 via bus 206. Microcontroller 200 has further random access memory(RAM) 201 and flash and EPROM memory 202. Memory 201 temporarily storesinformation received by computer 210. Memory 202 contains a dispensingalgorithm used to control the dispensing of medication stored in pillchambers 14. In one exemplary embodiment, microcontroller 200 is partnumber MC68HC08GP32 previously manufactured by Motorola and nowmanufactured by Freescale Semiconductor, although it is understood thatany suitable microcontroller having identical computing resources mayalternatively be used as microcontroller 200. Computer 210 is inbidirectional electrical communication via bus 215 with touch screen LCD220. User input and output communication 222 with computer 210 is viathe touch screen and the LCD display panel respectively, both of whichare incorporated into LCD screen 220.

Microcontroller 200 is preferably in further electrical communicationwith solenoid valve 78, dispensing motor 98, vibration motors 105 and107, platform rotation motor 63, vacuum motor 71, pressure transducer80, sheath limit switch 120, limit switches 100 and 102, optical emitter110 a and optical detector 110 b of assembly 110 which are thusresponsive to microcontroller 200. Power supply 230 supplies thenecessary electrical power to all electrical block components shown inFIG. 5. It is further understood that the necessary interface powercircuitry for controlling the various motors from the microcontrollercontrol signals is well known in the art and is therefore not includedin FIG. 5.

Computer 210 is a single board computer and may advantageously be anApplied Data Systems part number AGX system having a 32 bit digitalXscale PXA250 RISC Intel processor running at 400 MHz, 64 Mbytes of 100MHz SDRAM, 128 Kbytes of EPROM, 64 Mbytes of synchronous flash memory,an ethernet 10/100BT interface, 22 digital I/O lines, three RS-232serial ports, SPI communication port, real time clock and otherperipherals. It is understood that this is exemplary only and othercomputers may be used in other exemplary embodiments.

Opto emitter 110 a emits infrared radiation 111 a which is reflected offof the surface of semi-reflective strip 112 and received by optodetector 110 b. Stationary strip 112 contains a plurality of reflectivesegments and a non-reflective segment, in particular non-reflective bars112 a and reflective bars 112 b that may form a bar code representingthe relative position of platform 60 with respect to pill chambers 14a-14 f. It is understood that the relative position of assembly 110 withrespect to strip 112 determines whether radiation 111 a is eitherreflected or absorbed respectively by bars 112 b or 112 a, and thereforereceived by opto detector 110 b as reflected radiation. Opto detector110 b then generates an electrical signal representative of theposition.

In operation and now referring to FIG. 6, the user enters the amount ofmedication and the time for dispensing the medication. This procedure ismore fully described in previously incorporated pending application Ser.No. 10/438,452 filed May 14, 2003 and entitled Personal MedicationDispenser. Computer 210 receives medication dispensation requestinformation via touch screen LCD 220 and generates a dispensing schedule300. Schedule 300 further includes a sequence of time-ordered dispensingtime blocks 307. Each time block 307 includes the dispensing time 310,pill chamber identification number 330 and the number of pills 320 whichshould be dispensed at time 310.

Computer 210 further parses schedule 300 into parsed schedule 340.Parsed schedule 340 is further comprised of a sequence of individualtime ordered dispensing blocks 315. Each block 315 contains the time 317along with a single pill dispensing chamber number identification 319.Thus, time block 307 which requires two pills from chamber 1 is parsedinto two blocks 315 a and 315 b each of which contains an individualinstruction for dispensing a single pill from pill chamber 1. Computer210 then compares the real time clock time with time 317 and if a matchoccurs, begins the transfer of the dispensing instruction 342 tomicrocontroller 200 via bus 206 at time t1. Thus microcontroller 200 isinstructed to only dispense one pill at a time by computer 210.Dispensing instruction 342 contains the desired pill chamber 14 whichstores the pill.

Referring now additionally to FIG. 7, upon receiving a dispensinginstruction 342 from computer 210, microcontroller 200 begins executionof the dispensing algorithm 400. Before receiving the dispensinginstruction 342, microcontroller 200 is held in wait state 405. At step410, microcontroller 200 receives dispensing instruction 342 fromcomputer at time t1 and then at step 420 echoes back the receivedcommand 343 to computer 210. Computer 210 then compares the echoed backcommand with the original instruction 342 and either issues an error andstops dispensing or allows microcontroller to proceed to step 425. Instep 425, microcontroller 200 inputs the voltage on line 230 a andchecks whether switch 100 is closed. If switch 100 is not closed,microcontroller 200 outputs a command to motor 98 in step 427 to turnpinion 96 in a clockwise direction raising rack 94 and thereforeassembly 91. Motor 98 is continuously powered until switch 100 closes.In response to switch 100 closing, microcontroller 200 shuts off motor98 stopping the upward vertical movement of rack 94 and proceeds to step430.

In step 430 and having previously positioned rack 94 in the most upwardvertical position indicated by switch 100 closing, microcontroller 200then activates opto emitter 110 a. Opto emitter 110 a emits radiation111 a which is either reflected or absorbed by strip 112. The reflectedenergy 111 b activates opto detector 110 b which sends a signalindicating the current position of platform 60 with respect to thedesired pill chamber 14 previously received by microcontroller 200 fromcomputer 210 in instruction 342. In step 435, microcontroller 200 thenenergizies motor 63 which in turn rotates platform 60 to positionplatform 60 and access hole 61 a and select the pill chamber from whichthe pill or pills will be withdrawn. As platform 60 rotates, therelative position of platform 60 with respect to the pill chambers 14 iscommunicated to microcontroller 200 by optical assembly 110 and strip112. When platform 60 is aligned with the selected pill chamber 14having corresponding access hole 61 a over dispensing chamber 24,microcontroller 200 in step 440 sends a command to stop motor 63,stopping platform 60. Hole 61 a is now centrally aligned over hole 20allowing assembly 91 vertical access to pills 30 contained withinchamber 24. All other pill chamber access holes are covered by platform60. Program flow then continues to step 445.

In step 445, microcontroller 200 initializes a RAM 201 memory registervariable TRY to 5. Microcontroller 200 additionally turns on both pumpmotor 71 and vibration motors 105 and 107. Program flow then continuesto step 447, in which microcontroller 200 turns on motor 98 which nowrotates in a counterclockwise direction lowering assembly 91. Assembly91 now begins a vertical downward decent through access hole 61 a, hole20 a and into dispensing chamber 24 a. Program flow now continues tostep 450.

In step 450, microcontroller 200 inputs the signal on line 102 a fromswitch 102. If line 102 a is at a logic high indicating a switch 102closure, program flow now proceeds to step 455 where microcontroller 200immediately reverses the direction of motor 98 to clockwise directionraising assembly 91. A switch 102 closure indicates that assembly 91 isat the furthermost allowed vertical descent into chamber 24. This wouldoccur for example if pill chamber 24 was empty. Program flow thenproceeds to step 462. If switch 102 is not closed, program flowcontinues to step 457.

In step 457, microcontroller 200 inputs the signal on line 120 a andchecks the state of switch 120. If switch 120 is closed, program flowcontinues back to step 455. If switch 120 is not closed, program flowcontinues to step 460.

In step 460, microcontroller 200 inputs a signal from pressuretransducer 80. If bellow 92 has engaged a pill in chamber 24 creating avacuum seal in the fluid circuit; transducer 80 senses an increase inthe vacuum pressure. Program flow then continues to step 480. If thesignal from transducer 80 indicates the absence of a vacuum seal,program flow then loops back to step 450 via node A.

Referring now additionally to FIG. 8, bellow 92 is shown engaging thetop surface of pill 500. Bellow 92 deforms to the surface topology ofpill 500 and would normally create a vacuum seal. However, there areinstances where bellow 92 is fully deformed and yet a vacuum seal is notformed. This situation may arise if bellow 92 engages a pill edgethereby having conduit 106 still partially opened to atmosphericpressure thus preventing a vacuum seal from forming. With bellow 92fully compressed and a vacuum seal not formed, sheath 108 begins to moveupwardly against the force of spring 126 and switch 120. Eventuallyswitch 120 closes preventing the further downward motion of assembly 91and the possible crushing or otherwise breakage of pills located beneathassembly 91. Further, the downward force of sheath 108 created by theforce produced by compressing spring 126 acting on sheath 108 produces adownward directed force 505 on surrounding pill 501 forcing pill 501away from bellow 92.

In step 462, microcontroller inputs signal on line 100 a and checks ifswitch 100 is closed. If switch 100 is closed, program flow continues tostep 464. If switch 100 is open, program flow loops back to step 455raising arm assembly 91 until switch 100 does close.

In step 464, the variable TRY is decremented by 1. Program flow thencontinues to step 466.

In step 466, microcontroller 200 compares the current value of variableTRY to 0. If TRY=0, program flow continues to step 470. In step 470,microcontroller 200 sends failure message 344 to single board computer210 indicating that a failure has occurred after five attempts ofpicking up a pill. Microcontroller 200 then shuts off motor 98. If TRYdoes not equal 0, program flow loops back to step 447. The TRY variablecan be set to any value and for illustrative purposes has been set equalto five.

Referring now to step 460, if bellow 92 picks up a pill a vacuum isestablished in the fluid circuit and transducer 80 sends a signal tomicrocontroller 200. Program flow then continues to step 480.

In step 480 and in response to transducer 80 signal, microcontroller 200turns on motor 98 raising assembly 91. In addition, vibration motors 105and 107 are shut off. Program flow then continues to step 482.

In step 482, microcontroller 200 inputs signal on line 100 a and checksfor switch 100 closure. Upon switch 100 closure, program flow continuesto step 484. In step 484, microcontroller 200 turns off motor 98 thusstopping the vertical movement of assembly 91 and then turns on motor 63rotating platform 60. Program flow then continues to step 486.

In step 486, microcontroller 200 inputs the signal from opto detector110 b and determines if platform 60 is at the correct position fordropping the picked up pill. The picked-up pill may preferably bedropped into a release tray such as release tray 15 shown in FIG. 2. Thecorrect position for dropping the picked-up pill advantageously includesaccess hole 61 a shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, aligned over an opening betweendispensing chambers 24-24 f providing vertical access to release tray15. When the drop off position is reached, program flow proceeds to step490.

In step 490, microcontroller 200 turns off motor 63 which stops therotation of platform 63. Microcontroller then turns off pump motor 71stopping the production of the vacuum in the fluid circuit.Additionally, to quickly release the vacuum and subsequently release thepill, microcontroller 200 turns on solenoid value 78 which allows thefluid circuit to be placed in fluid communication with the atmosphere.The previously held pill is now released and falls under the force ofgravity from bellow 92 and into release tray 15 from where it is urgedinto drawers 15 a and may be retrieved by the user/patient. Program flowcontinues to step 492.

In step 492, microcontroller 200 inputs the signal from pressuretransducer 80 and determines if the fluid circuit still maintains avacuum. Microcontroller 200 then waits until the vacuum is dissipatedand then program flow continues to step 494. In step 494,microcontroller 200 shuts off solenoid valve 78 blocking the atmosphericpressure from the fluid circuit through port 79 b. Program flowcontinues to step 496.

In step 496, microcontroller sends a success command 344 back to singleboard computer 210 via bus 206. Microcontroller 200 then is placed intoa wait state in step 405 where it is ready to accept the next sequencedparsed command 315 b from computer 210.

FIG. 9 shows another exemplary embodiment of the pill retrievingmechanisms. Referring to FIG. 9, dispensing algorithm 400 canalternatively dispense pills using a radial arm for moving dispensingassembly 91 instead of the rack 94 and pinion 96 system. As illustratedin FIG. 9, attached to shaft 97 of motor 98 is a radial arm 600 whichfurther attaches to assembly 91. Limit switches 100 and 102 are nowpositioned to to engage and limit the radial movement 605 of arm 600.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described indetail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and alternatives to these details could be developed inlight of the overall teachings of the disclosure. For example, an ACpowered motor could be used in place of DC motor 98. Additionally, thenumber of chambers could be either increased or decreased by suitablyenlarging the circumference of hub 10 or adjusting the sizes of thechambers accordingly. More or less than the exemplary illustrated sixpill chambers may be used. Further, the power supply 230 could alsoinclude batteries. Accordingly, the particular arrangements disclosedare meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope ofthe invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appendedclaims and any and all equivalents thereof.

1. A pill dispenser comprising: a plurality of pill chambersperipherally disposed about a central hub, each of said plurality ofpill chambers including a bottom portion, and a mechanism that withdrawsa pill from each of said bottom portions by grasping said pill fromabove, and delivers said pill to an exit port.
 2. The pill dispenser asin claim 1, wherein said plurality of pill chambers are adjacent oneanother and circumferentially disposed about said central hub.
 3. Thepill dispenser as in claim 1, further comprising means for selecting aselected pill chamber of said plurality of pill chambers.
 4. The pilldispenser as in claim 3, wherein said means for selecting includes arotatable plate with at least an access opening therethrough and meansfor positioning said access opening over said bottom portion of saidselected pill chamber, said mechanism disposed on said rotatable plateand withdrawing said pill from said bottom portion of said selected pillchamber through said access opening.
 5. The pill dispenser as in claim4, wherein said means for positioning comprises a computer and a motorthat rotates said rotatable plate, said motor responsive to saidcomputer.
 6. The pill dispenser as in claim 4, wherein said plate isround and said access opening extends radially inwardly from acircumference of said plate.
 7. The pill dispenser as in claim 4,wherein said means for positioning includes a stationary surface with areflective portion and a non-reflective portion disposed beneath adetection opening formed in said rotatable plate, an optical source thatdirects light through said detection opening, and a sensor that senseslight reflected off said reflective portion.
 8. The pill dispenser as inclaim 7, wherein said reflective portion includes a plurality ofsegments and said non-reflective portion includes a plurality ofnon-reflective segments together arranged in a pattern that forms a codeindicative of position of said rotatable plate with respect to each ofsaid pill chambers which are in fixed position.
 9. The pill dispenser asin claim 8, further comprising a programmable controller and means forsending to said programmable controller an electrical signal indicativeof said position.
 10. The pill dispenser as in claim 1, wherein eachpill chamber includes a vertical portion that is essentially orthogonalto said bottom portion.
 11. The pill dispenser as in claim 1, furthercomprising a plurality of said pills within said plurality of pillchambers and wherein each of said pill chambers includes a verticalportion and an inclined surface that guides pills of said plurality ofpills from said vertical portion to said bottom portion.
 12. The pilldispenser as in claim 1, wherein said mechanism is rotatable withrespect to said plurality of pill chambers and said mechanism singularlyand individually withdraws said pill from said bottom portion.
 13. Thepill dispenser as in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of saidpills in said plurality of pill chambers and at least one vibratingmotor that alters orientation of pills of said plurality of pills insaid bottom portion and urges said pills into said bottom portions, eachvibrating motor disposed in a base portion of said hub.
 14. The pilldispenser as in claim 1, wherein said mechanism includes a vacuum tipand bellows portion that grasp said pill.
 15. The pill dispenser as inclaim 14, wherein said mechanism is mounted on a rotatable plate with anaccess opening therethrough, said vacuum tip extendable through saidaccess opening and into said bottom portion.
 16. The pill dispenser asin claim 15, wherein said vacuum tip is a terminal part of a tube thatmoves substantially vertically.
 17. The pill dispenser as in claim 1,further comprising a computer that communicates with a programmablecontroller that communicates with said mechanism, said computerincluding a timer and a memory and responsive to user input.
 18. Thepill dispenser as in claim 17, wherein said computer is operableprogrammably to preset at least one of a time and a number of pills tobe dispensed from each of said plurality of pill chambers and to operatesaid mechanism to withdraw said pills from each of said bottom portions.19. The pill dispenser as in claim 17, wherein said computer is operableto maintain a dispensing schedule of pills from each of said respectivepill chambers according to at least one of a predetermined dosage amountand time, said dosage amount and time including different frequenciesand start times, and to operate said pill dispenser to dispense saidpills according to said dispensing schedule.
 20. The pill dispenser asin claim 1, wherein said central hub is cylindrically shaped andrespective outer surfaces of said plurality of pill chambers combine toform a circle.
 21. The pill dispenser as in claim 1, wherein said exitport comprises a drawer disposed below said pill chambers and furthercomprising a centrally disposed inclined surface that urges said pillinto said drawer.
 22. A method for dispensing pills from a pilldispenser comprising: providing a pill dispenser with a plurality ofpill chambers peripherally disposed about a central hub, each pillchamber having a subjacent portion disposed below a retrieval mechanism;selecting a selected pill chamber of said plurality of pill chambers;rotating said retrieval mechanism to position said retrieval mechanismover said subjacent portion of said selected pill chamber; withdrawing apill from said subjacent portion of said selected pill chamber usingsaid retrieval mechanism; further rotating said plate to position saidpill over a release tray; and releasing said pill into said releasetray.
 23. The method as in claim 22, wherein said retrieval mechanism isdisposed on a rotatable plate with an access opening therethrough andsaid rotating includes positioning said access opening over saidsubjacent portion of said selected pill chamber and said withdrawingincludes said withdrawal mechanism extending through said accessopening.
 24. The method as in claim 22, further comprising vibratingsaid central hub to alter orientation of pills in at least one of saidpill chambers.
 25. The method as in claim 22, further comprising acomputer sending a signal to said pill dispenser to cause at least oneof said rotating, withdrawing and further rotating.
 26. The method as inclaim 25, further comprising programming said computer using a touchscreen.
 27. The method as in claim 25, further comprising programmingsaid pill dispenser to dispense pills according to a schedule includingat least one of a dosage amount, dispensation time, and dispensationfrequency.
 28. The method as in claim 22, wherein said withdrawingcomprises lowering a vacuum arm into said subjacent portion to graspsaid pill from above.
 29. The method as in claim 22, wherein said plateincludes a detection hole extending therethrough, and a surfaceincluding reflective portions and non-reflective portions is disposedbeneath said plate, and further comprising directing light through saiddetection opening and providing a detector capable of sensing reflectedlight from said opening.
 30. The method as in claim 29, wherein saidreflective and said non-reflective portions form a code indicative of aposition of said rotatable plate with respect to each of said pillchambers, and wherein said rotating further comprises positioning saidaccess opening over a desired subjacent portion based on said detectorsensing said code.
 31. A method for dispensing pills from a pilldispenser comprising: providing a pill dispenser with a plurality ofpill chambers peripherally disposed about a central hub, each pillchamber having a subjacent portion disposed below a portion of saidcentral hub; selecting a selected pill chamber of said plurality of pillchambers; rotating a plate with an access opening extendingtherethrough, to position said access opening over said subjacentportion of said selected pill chamber; withdrawing a pill from saidsubjacent portion of said selected pill chamber through said accessopening; and releasing said pill into a release tray.